Demonstration: BNP hits out at ‘false’ charges against chief

Party to set up hunger strike camps outside press clubs on December 15.

QUETTA: The Balochistan National Party (BNP) staged a demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club on Saturday to condemn the registration of an FIR against its central leader Ayub Ghichki.

A few days earlier, Major Shahab Qadeer of the Frontier Corps (FC) lodged an FIR against Ayub Jan Ghichki, a senior BNP leader, at Turbat police station accusing him of murder, terrorism and interfering in the affairs of the state.

Two sons of Ghichki and a FC soldier among six people were killed during the gun battle in Turbat on December 1.

Protesters chanted slogans against the government and security forces and accused them of killing innocent people and violating the sanctity of homes by carrying out raids.

Addressing the protesters, Information Secretary of BNP Agha Hassan and Javed Baloch of the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO) strongly condemned the registration of cases against the BNP leader.

“The so-called democratic government is implicating him under false charges instead of taking action against the personnel who opened unprovoked fire at his residence and killed two of his sons,” Agha Hassan said, adding, “The brutality of the government and security forces has intensified towards the Baloch – first it was the non-recovery of missing persons and now their decomposed bodies are being recovered.”

Hassan announced that the BNP would set up hunger strike camps outside press clubs throughout Balochistan on December 15, in protest against the registration of cases against its leader, the alleged military operation in parts of Balochistan and the non-recovery of missing persons.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2010.